Defense & National Security

“Today’s announcement from Mr. Geiger and Electric Boat is good news for eastern Connecticut and for the state,” said Congressman Courtney. “This year’s projection of nearly 900 new hires represents a continued strong, upward trajectory for both the local and regional economies and builds on over 1,000 new hires in Connecticut over the past year.

“This announcement isn’t just good news for Electric Boat, its good news for our submarine force” said Courtney. “Recent reports from the CBO and the GAO have underscored the urgent and growing need for the Navy to better utilize our private sector shipyards to ensure that our submarines – both new boats like Delaware and the existing fleet – get the timely maintenance and modernization they need. As demand for undersea capabilities continue to grow, it is more important than ever that the Navy use every tool at its disposal to get submarines the maintenance they need – and back out to see as quickly as possible.

“Our region and our state are preparing for tremendous growth in submarine construction work in the coming years – and we need a robust supply chain to help meet the challenge,” said Courtney. “It’s all hands on deck to make sure we are ready to provide the manufacturing capability, the skilled workforce and the innovation that will get us there. I am proud to work with partners such as UCONN and the Thames River Innovation Place to accomplish this important and exciting goal.”

“The GAO’s report is a sobering assessment of the challenges facing our undersea forces. While demand for our undersea fleet and its unique capabilities continues to rise as reflected in the 2016 Force Structure Assessment, delays in maintaining our existing fleet are exacerbating the growing shortfall in our submarine force structure. This report makes clear that the Navy must do more to fully utilize the capacity of our private shipyards to reduce the backlog in submarine repair work – something I have repeatedly urged the Navy to act on. It is long past time for a return to a “one shipyard” approach to meeting the challenge of maintaining and repairing our submarines so that they can get back to sea doing the important missions we need them to do."

“The report published this week paints a stark picture that our nation’s strategic advantage is severely at risk,” Ranking Member Courtney said. “The report also makes clear that the Administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy lacks the depth and coherence necessary to link our military strategy to the resources needed to address the national security challenges our country is facing today. The report presents an invaluable ‘second opinion’ on the direction the Department of Defense and Congress should take in the coming years.